


a day in the life of a St. Anthony's boy

by edbloom



Series: St. Anthony's [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Catholic School, Coming of Age, Dark Academia, Gen, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Religion, Slice of Life, Swearing, lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23465980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edbloom/pseuds/edbloom
Summary: Renjun watches the color guards swing their batons around before glancing back at his notebook. They have an assessment in Biology later and Renjun doesn’t want to fuck it up. He already spent the whole summer ignoring the readings he had to do. In his defense, he was fucking tired of school and summer was supposed to be for recharging—not extra schoolwork teachers couldn’t fit in last semester.—St. Anthony's was just your box standard all boys Catholic boarding school. Until it wasn't. Huang Renjun was just your average Catholic school boy. Until he wasn't
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas - Past
Series: St. Anthony's [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688095
Comments: 18
Kudos: 39





	a day in the life of a St. Anthony's boy

**Author's Note:**

> hiya!!
> 
> i wrote this in one sitting for uhhhh i started at 4 pm and its currently 3:37 am :DDD im currently drinking more coffee and eating sugar cookies. its a great day.
> 
> this is very house of anubis inspired.
> 
> also warning: renjun swears alot. like a lot a lot. its alot vulgar.
> 
> thank you to cat!! wonderful baby who beta'd this shit show. thankie thankie.

**“** ** _B_** _less us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord._ ”

He stumbles into the dining hall with his hair a mess, and his tie not quite tied. In his tip toes, he sticks to the wall as the priest finishes the prayer—his steps, light as feathers. He thanks the Lord for blessing him with a table near the entrance. 

“ _Amen_ ,” he races to his seat where his roommates snicker behind their hands. _Jerks_ , Renjun thinks. 

_You may take a seat_ , he hears one of the priests speak—it echoes against the empty walls, and students echo _thank you, Father_ back. They all take a seat in unison, and if Renjun wasn’t so sure this was a Catholic school, he would’ve taken a guess it was a cult instead.

“Had a good night, Junnie?” Jaemin asks with a saccharine smile. So sweet, it reminds Renjun of a Venus Flytrap. Jeno smirks at the scowl he gives Jaemin, before turning to the line forming at the buffet table.

“Watch your fucking mouth, Na,” Renjun says. He hears Jaemin chuckle under his breath. Jeno smiles the smallest of smiles before coughing behind a fist.

“Fix your tie, Huang. It’s a mess,” Jeno whispers; he looks around with his elbows on the table, keeping watch on the table of priests near them. Renjun swears before fumbling to fix his tie, but his hands are hazy and it’s definitely too early to do this much fucking gymnastics for appearances. He tells Jeno about it which they, him and Jaemin, snicker at.

“It’s just a tie, Junnie.”

“That’s why it’s infuriating,” Renjun swears Jaemin would have laughed louder at that if they weren’t in the middle of the fucking dining hall with a bunch of priests four tables away from them.

“Okay, heads up, it’s our turn,” Jeno breaks their moment before standing up. Straightening his blazer and dress shirt, he stands up and follows the rest of them to the buffet table. They make their way in front of the table of priests— their spines straight and their faces terse. A chorus of _good morning, Father_ ’s come from them as they pass the table. _Almost fucking there_ , he thinks, _come on_.

“Huang Renjun,” someone calls out a butchered pronunciation of his name, and he skids to a stop. He was almost there, is all he could think while he turns to meet the clergy who called him out. _Of course, it was Father Kingsley_ , he internally rolls his eyes, _bitch always had a grudge against me_.

“Yes, Father?”

“Your hair, boy, it’s a mess,” Father Kingsley tutts. Renjun hears a wisp of snickers behind him, and he knows without even turning that it was Jaemin and Jeno _kindly_ waiting for him. He takes a breath, quietly. _Calm it, Huang_.

“Sorry, Father. I’ll fix it before class,” he pairs it with what he hopes is an easy-going smile before turning back to his roommates. He mouths a subtle _fuck you_ at them both, before clenching his jaw and making his way to the buffet table.

* * *

**“I** got to say, Huang,” a voice calls out. Renjun hears the smirk in his tone first, before processing the words said. He physically restrains himself from full throttling the asshole speaking when he realizes where they are, and the hounding he’ll get if he initiates a fist fight isn’t worth it. “You were quite entertaining this morning.”

“The whole stealth act was so amusing, it brightened up my whole morning,” he hears Jaemin snicker behind him because he’s always been a fucking _traitor_ and _screw you, Na Jaemin._ He flips Jaemin off before turning to the fucker who has been speaking to him. He feels irritation swell in his chest when he sees the smirk and twinkle of amusement in his eyes—like Renjun was some fucking show animal and Donghyuck was having too much fun fucking with him.

“It’s too fucking early for your bullshit, Lee,” Renjun says through gritted teeth, his tone and glare cold. Renjun hears Jaemin cough from behind him and he sees the person beside Donghyuck look away from him quickly. Donghyuck’s smirk grows wider and his eyes turn more fiery once Renjun speaks. Because if Renjun is ice personified, then Donghyuck is fire. Wreaked havoc wherever, whenever, words burn like a singe of a flame, eyes look so much like a forest fire at a glance, disastrous in every sense of the word.

“But I just wanted to express my gratitude, you know—”

“No, I fucking don’t,” Renjun says; he sees the boy beside Donghyuck flinch.

“You made my morning, Renjunnie—” Donghyuck’s tone so saccharine sweet, it makes Renjun fucking gag, “and I’m thankful for that.” The hand pressed on his chest for emphasis makes Renjun want to sucker punch the bitch in the face. “I was having the shittiest week—”

“You probably deserved it,” Renjun says as he turns back to the board with a clenched jaw and a clenched fist.

“I, somehow, ended up in the infirmary because,” Renjun hears the twist and tilt in his tone, Donghyuck’s bushfire of a temper was gaining fuel, “some _son of a bitch_ decided it would be a good idea to push me against the lockers.”

“You definitely deserved it,” Renjun mutters, because Donhyuck did. Renjun remembers. The asshole was shitting on him for being late for choir, and Renjun was already pissed at being chewed out by the conductor, he didn’t need another person lecturing him. He remembers heat filling his chest, feeling like he was about to explode any moment then. All he could do was shove Donghyuck to the lockers and storm away. It was cathartic and he didn’t regret an inch of it.

“Did I, you fuck?” He leans closer now. Renjun feels the heat radiate from his words, the absolute menace laced through it. 

It makes Renjun’s heart sing. 

“I had to get a Tetanus shot, you motherfucking wag,” his words gain speed, wildfire in a forest full of trees, heat almost enveloping Renjun whole, it makes him feel giddy like a child, “because your shit aim had to land me near a rusty ass fucking locker—” 

_Boo,_ he thinks as Sir Reynald burst into the room, stopping Renjun from replying to Donghyuck. He hears a grumble and a thump next to him. The tips of his lips tug to form a small smile.

“Good morning, class,” they all stand up in unison.

“Good morning, sir Reynald,” he turns to Donghyuck with a cloying smile. He receives a glare in return. It almost burns him, can feel the _fuck you_ s and the hatred intertwined into it. He lets out a breath of a laugh before turning back to sir Reynald.

God, did it feel good to give the bastard what he deserves. 

* * *

**S** ometimes, Renjun was thankful for the abundance of trees in St. Anthony’s. At one point, Renjun thought it made the whole place look like a forest but honestly, he kinda digs it now. Not only did it match well with the whole aesthetic of the buildings, making it look like a castle almost, but it also provided shade and made the whole place chillier. Which was much appreciated because those bastards on the board decided they had to wear the fucking blazer all year ‘round. It was only a few days after summer ended and without the trees surrounding him, he’d be sweating by the buckets.

He’s sat on one of the benches in the courtyard with the perfect view of the field. It’s a great spot for when he doesn't feel like being alone at the dorm and Jaemin has an emergency color guard practice during free period. 

Renjun watches the color guards swing their batons around before glancing back at his notebook. They have an assessment in Biology later and Renjun doesn’t want to fuck it up. He already spent the whole summer ignoring the readings he had to do. In his defense, he was fucking tired of school and summer was supposed to be for recharging—not extra schoolwork teachers couldn’t fit in last semester. 

His sweet, sweet peace is sadly interrupted when a hand suddenly snatches away the notebook on his lap. He feels a cold chill run up his spine to his neck when he hears the smuggest of snickers behind him, as they probably flipped through the pages of his notebook.

“Cramming before an assessment, huh?” His head feels cold, the tip of his tongue itching all of a sudden. His notebook hits the ground, pages downward, and his blood pressure _sings_. “Not very Huang-like to study at the last minute.”

Every syllable burns like a lighter to his skin.

“You would know a lot about Huang’s, don’t you, _Duckie_?” Renjun says, using the pet name Lucas gave Donghyuck before they broke up. He smirks to himself, before a startled cough comes from behind him. And that, that makes him turn because Donghyuck would never react to _that_ with a _cough_. Much less one that came out like a choke.

He’s greeted with a grimace from Jeno and that answers his question. Donghyuck, though. Donghyuck looks like he’s three seconds away from punching him to death. His eyes stone and his teeth grit so tight, it makes Renjun feel exhilarated. Truly nothing makes him happier than fucking with Donghyuck.

“Watch your fucking mouth, Renjun,” Donghyuck’s tone low. _A threat probably_. Donghyuck takes a step closer, Jeno’s hand automatically holding on to one of Donghyuck’s wrists. _Definitely a threat_. His figure towers over him, shadow coming off as intimidating. To everyone else, maybe. But Renjun. Well. Renjun scoffs at the act.

“As if you fucking scare me, Lee,” he says, standing up. He isn’t that tall, not next to Jaemin, Jeno, hell, even Donghyuck. But he knows his way around intimidating people without his stature to help, knows how to make words feel like punches, or glares feel like knives. He knows how to scare without even saying a word even. How the hell would he have survived St. Anthony’s otherwise?

Renjun meets Donghyuck’s eyes, and ice meets fire again. 

His little staring contest with Donghyuck is interrupted when he hears Jaemin call for him. He hears Jeno sigh with relief, he tugs on Donghyuck’s arm. Clear sign to back off. And for once, like a good fucking dog, Donghyuck follows. Jeno pulls Donghyuck away from Renjun and he scoffs before fully turning away from him.

Renjun bites back a smile, picking up his notebook. A few patches of dirt are on the pages but it’s mostly good. He gingerly dusts it off before it stains the pages though. _Definitely lucky enough that Donghyuck has a shit aim_ , Renjun thought, as he winces at the puddle next to the spot where he picked his notebook on.

Stuffing his notebook back into his bag, he makes his way to Jaemin, who smiles at him with curiosity.

“Now, what were you up to?” He asks while ruffling Renjun’s hair. Renjun swats his hands away before smiling at him with a shit-eating grin.

“Nothing.”

* * *

  
  


**B** iology, Renjun’s worst class, but he’ll never admit that to anyone. The _second_ bane of existence after of course Lee Donghyuck. That he will gladly admit to everyone.

Not that he hates Biology. Hell no. Renjun tries to not hate any subject he comes across, prides himself in being adaptable to whatever is thrown at him. He doesn’t even hate teachers—Although, yes, sometimes they do piss him off. He tries not to let it affect his performance though. He tries, a lot, some might even say too much— Jaemin, Jaemin would definitely say that— but when it comes to Biology, he just can’t. He absolutely can’t. Nothing retains in his brain, no matter how hard he tries, or how much he memorizes. Concepts just feels foreign to him, and the terminology just flies above his head. 

He fidgets in his seat as sir Devon divides the papers per column. His feet stomps on the floor, relentlessly, as he twirls his pen on his fingers. He isn’t ready for this assessment at all. He didn’t even understand why the assessment was graded in the first place because you know, it was an assessment meaning it was a questionnaire for sir Devon to know if he needed to refresh on last semester’s topics. Which he should. He really should. He had madam Roselle last semester, and he finally understood why a Theoretical Physicist should never try to teach Biology to a bunch of sophomores. He understood absolutely nothing. And sir Devon had the reputation of being nice but absolutely no bullshit when it came to Biology.

His thoughts run at a mile a second, panic builds at the top of his throat. Felix passes the test paper to him, and his thoughts quiet down. _Fucking finally_. He scans through the paper as he passes the rest of tests behind him. He sees the word _identification_ and he prays to the Lord to fucking save him.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


**R** enjun walks into the dining hall with the world on his shoulders. Biology was his last class for the day and thank fuck for that because he is _exhausted_. He bullshitted almost 40% of the assessment. Now, he’s just praying to God he would pass. 

He sits down on his seat, and immediately crumbles. He is so tired.

“You okay, Jun?” A soft voice asks, accompanied by a soft pat on his head. He raises his head from his arms to pout at Jeno.

“I’m so fucking tired,” a whine spills from his lips. Jeno chuckles before waving someone over. He guesses it’s Jaemin, but it wouldn’t make any sense. Jaemin knows their table. Renjun hopes it isn’t Donghyuck because he doesn’t care if Jeno is nice to him, he’ll punch him if he sees that motherfucker’s face. 

He feels someone ruffle his hair, neck snapping up to either bite their hand off or dislodge their hand from his hair. His glare prepared, and the words already streaming pass his filter. It all stops when he sees who did it.

“Woah! Calm down, man,” Mark’s hands retreat into a surrender stance. And if anyone else said those words to him, he would’ve punched their face right there and then. But this is Mark Lee! Mark who, sadly enough, he has a soft spot for, making him one of the few people who could get away from giving him shit.

So instead of pounding his teeth off like he would do to literally anyone else, he pouts at him. He whines that Mark can’t bully him right now because _I’m tired, Mark_ and _sir Devon was really mean today_. Unfortunately, all his whining was met with a chuckle and a pat on the shoulder.

“Hey, I heard something from—” A church bell interrupts Mark before he could continue. He pales slightly before rushing to his table as Renjun and Jeno scramble to stand up. 

After the third chime, Jaemin dashes to their table in a hurry. He’s out of breath, and his sweater is on the wrong way so Renjun can only assume he was napping before dinner. Renjun opens his mouth to ask, when Father Castro clears his throat, the sound making the hair on Renjun’s arms stand up.

“Let us all pray the prayer before meals.”

Renjun sighs, relenting to his fate.

“ _In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…_ ”

* * *

**T** he wind blows cold, goosebumps appearing on his forearms. The chapel always gives him the creeps. He doesn’t like the echoes of the priest’s voice ringing across the chapel. He doesn’t like the prison-like railings that divide the students from the clergies. He doesn’t like the shadows of the trees outside the chapel. He doesn’t like that the windows in the chapel didn’t have glass, nor did the entrance of the chapel have doors. He doesn’t like the way the crucifix appeared, the blood running down Jesus’ face like tears almost, the way it’s carved so precise and _perfect_ , it almost looks real. Almost looks human. 

He hates mass. Mass in the chapel always felt like staring at a fucking corpse for an hour long. Like a funeral almost.

He hates it.

“ _And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…._ ”

* * *

  
  


**R** ushing out of the bathroom before people could start clogging the door, he makes his way to his dorm room. _Another day of school, done_.

He skids to a walk when he reaches his hallway. Suddenly, he hears loud footsteps from the floor above. Renjun wants to shout at them to shut the fuck up but honestly, it isn’t the worth the demerit. He hears footsteps again, but this time, a vague shout follows. He looks up, curiously, before opening the door to his dorm room.

He dumps his towel at the foot of his bed, glancing at Jeno on the top bunk, reading his Geometry book, and Jaemin in the kitchenette, fixing himself a cup of ramen. Renjun grabs his bag on his bed, before making his way to his desk.

“You just had dinner,” Renjun says before turning to his bag. He sifts through the crumpled papers he has stuffed into his bag, checking if there was anything important he needed to file or useless enough to throw out. 

“I’m staying up late because I have an essay to write,” Jaemin says before he hears the click of the electric kettle. He unfolds a note that falls out from one of his notebooks, it reveals a series of random letters and numbers. Something that he doesn’t remember writing. At all. He tries to recall when he could’ve written it but nothing comes up. He knows he wrote it though, the handwriting was his. But when…

“I need the energy, honestly.”

“Is it for Shakespeare?” Jeno asks. Renjun groans, quietly, enough not to catch his roommates’ attention or interrupt their conversation. He thinks _fuck it_ and sits up, opening his drawer to shove the note inside. No time to uncover that, he had homework to do. And the faster he was done, the faster he could fucking sleep.

“Yeah, I got madam Safiya this year though. So I really can’t complain,” Jaemin sighs and he hears Jeno hum something like _lucky_. And he agrees, internally. He’d rather have madam Safiya than Father Klena. Nothing personal, Father Klena just constantly sounds like he’s Captain Holt but with less emotion. He opens his History book, and pulls out his highlighters from his pencil case.

Quiet blankets their dormitory, as they all fall silent. All three of them, immersed in their own responsibilities. And the quiet goes on for a long while.

Renjun is almost done with the chapter he was reading to prepare for class tomorrow when it happens.

A crash, a yell and the loudest fucking bang happens in the room above them.

His head snaps to look at Jeno and Jaemin, both of them have the look of bewilderment too. _What the fuck was that_ their eyes seemed to say. They all look at the floor above them before glancing at each other again.

Renjun stands up to look outside, to check if other people heard, Jaemin sets his ramen down, and Jeno glides down his top bunk. Renjun opens the door to reveal the hallway pitch black.

_Strange_ , Renjun thought, _they never turn off the hallway lights_. And they didn’t because they never did. There weren’t even switches in the hallways. They were in the emergency staircase that only the head boys had keys to.

“What the fuck?” He hears Jaemin beside him. _What the fuck_ , indeed.

Jeno pushes them out of the way to step outside but Jaemin holds him back when the lights start to flicker on and off. It goes on for seconds, each alternate growing more rapid 

On. Off. On, Off, On, Off,On,Off,On,Off,OnOffOnOffOnOffOnOffOn--

_Crack!_

The closest light bulb bursts 

and a scream resonates throughout the whole hallway.


End file.
